Half as Big as Life
by Compulsive Bowler
Summary: While on New Earth again, Rose and the Doctor find themselves caught in a battle for each other, but who are they really fighting? Demons do run when a good man goes to war.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hi everyone! I decided that I really wasn't very happy with the story, so I'm going back and editing it. Only minor details will change, so you don't really have to reread it per se, but it's always great if you would! So far chapter 1 is edited and I'll be doing chapter 2 next. R&R please! It makes the all of the writing and rewriting worth it!**

Rose Tyler woke that morning with gleam in her eye and a spring in her step. She pulled off her powdery pink sheets and stepped on to her soft, plush carpeting. From her closet she pulled out a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a Beatles T-shirt that she purchased when they last visited London, and a turquoise colored hoodie. A dark blue vine-like print ran down the right arm. She marveled at the casual elegance of the simple design before lacing up her black trainers, compliments of the Doctor, and running out the door.

She went to the kitchen to make some breakfast before heading out. Despite the Doctor's malice towards domesticity, he allowed Rose to eat at times following a natural progression of events when in the TARDIS. She popped some wheat bread in the toaster for 3 minutes and searched for the jam. The door of the large refrigerator was lined with hundreds of flavors of jam, ranging from ranging from the standard Earth grape to one called Papalovinian spinach. The Doctor was adamant that it was a sweet vegetable, but Rose stuck to strawberry.

She found her allotted jar next to the Doctor's banana jam and went to spread it on her toast. She made a mental note to pick up more when they visited Earth again since the current jar was almost empty and Rose feared trying any of the Doctor's outrageous flavors.

"Doctor, where are we going?" Rose called from the back of the console, a full hundred feet away from the Doctor. He leaned up against the door frame and wore a subtle grin as he glanced up from his trainers. Rose attempted to avoid his gaze by fiddling with her shoes when he turned around. He bounced over, invading her personal bubble, and pulled her face up from the ground right towards his.

"Rose Tyler, you are gonna love it! You remember New New York on New Earth? How could you not, now I'm just losing my mind! We're going to visit the great city of New New New New New New New New New New New New New New Chicago! It only has 14 'news.' Have you ever wondered how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?" She rolled her eyes and chuckled at his enthusiasm. "582 on average. It all depends on the acidic concentration in your saliva. The question is unanswerable because in their research facilities they find new variables for the equation every day! They have an entire tootsie roll museum in New Chicago! Molto bene, Allons-y," he called over his shoulder, back to the TARDIS, but Rose Tyler just stood there.

She stared at the ground, again, for a solid minute.

"Rose? Rose, stop staring so we can go! Lots to see and lots to do and all of the trouble in between!"

Rose missed the ending of the Doctor's rambling. She knew her time with him would have to end eventually, but she wanted to postpone that for as long as possible. Few things in life are really worth fighting for. You have to pick and choose your battles and your opponents.

Rose knew that she would always be on thin ice in this life they lived. Rose knew she was never safe, from the monsters or the Doctor. Rose knew that, although the Doctor was always quick to disagree, she was replaceable. Rose knew that in the grand scheme of things, she was just a speck. Rose knew that she wanted to be remembered. Rose knew that she would be remembered, and fondly at that. But most of all, Rose knew that in the end, the Doctor was a prize to be won.

From her encounter with Sarah Jane Smith at the school to that moment, she knew that he was an enigma. Rose was determined to claim her prize, mount it on a pedestal, and threaten any who would dare to defy her. If there was a way for her to win over the Doctor, what would it be? Though Rose loved a good challenge, she knew it wouldn't be easy. She knew that she would have to be cunning, with the mental agility of, well, the Doctor. Rose Tyler analyzed the conundrum from every angle and postulated her response to any bump in the road. Rose Tyler had anticipated everything from the common cold to the return of the Cybermen. The one thing she hadn't anticipated, was just how dirty she would have to play to win the game.


	2. I Think I Got You Beat

Chapter 1

Rose and the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS into a damp pile of mulch. A quick survey of the area showed them that they were in a park.

"Bet that's not something these kids see everyday," Rose laughed. The Doctor gave her a smile and cocked his head to one side while he viewed her face. His lips parted as he smiled, his teeth shown and his tongue poking over the bottom set. Rose felt her feet sinking in the dirt the longer she stood there.

"Imagine; a blue police box materializes in the park one day while you're playing in the park. You're only three years old so you shrug it off, but you always remember the strange, yet always dapper man who walks out with his companion, a blonde girl with piercing hazel eyes. They leave and a few days later the box is gone, but you're left with the memory. One day, years later you decide to write a book about these strange people and their adventures. Sounds like grounds for a great novel. Or a movie. No wait! A show on telly. Speaking of shows, what if one day there was a broadway musical about us! Wouldn't that be fantastic?"

"Doctor, I'm pretty sure that if that happened, you would know about it wouldn't you?" Rose pressed up against him and nudged him in the side. The Doctor avoided her jab and batted her away.

"That I would Rose Tyler, that I would. But still, you can't help but wonder. The day I know everything will be the day I stop traveling. What's the point of life if not to learn? Now, let's go learn and do something before the kids swarm around us."

The two walked through the futuristic park. It looked like it came straight out of the Jettsons. The swings had circular, chrome seats with blue lights on the rims. They swung freely, without visible chains, from a robotic bar above them. The slides contained what Rose though was wormhole technology. The Doctor explained that it was really just an invisibility chamber made to trick the untrained eye. Instead of a ball pit, the park had a standard anti-gravity chamber; the Doctor insisted that every park on New Earth had one.

They made it out of the park and headed toward the nearest alleyway, hoping it would lead them to the city. The alley, as most alleys are, was dark, unsanitary, and unbelievably shady.

"Not that much has changed, yeah?" Rose worriedly looked to the Doctor to ensure her protection. Her eyebrows furrowed and her forehead creased. The Doctor placed his hand on her shoulder for comfort. When he removed it, he dropped back behind Rose and waiting for her to keep walking. When she was 5 feet ahead of him, he ran up behind her and grabbed both shoulders. Rose screamed for help, her eyes wide and adrenaline pulsing through her body.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" she screamed at the Doctor.

"Just wanted to have a little fun," he smirked and turned his back triumphantly before he walked away with a jolly look on his face. Rose silently made a note to get back at him for his little prank.

They made their way to the city in about 15 minutes and agreed to get a hotel so that they could stay out as late as possible and not have to worry about traveling back to the TARDIS, especially through the alley at night. They found a hotel conveniently located by the tootsie pop museum and the galaxy's largest impressionist art exhibit. The lobby was dimly lit, but vivid fiber-optic sconces lined the walls. The fuschia, violet, green, aqua, and red lights switched about every 30 seconds and illuminated the area with a necessary, yet mysterious, glow. One entire wall was an aquarium for every known fish in the solar system. Although they were thousands of years away from home, Rose was still mesmerized by the assortment of marine life and was taken by a particularly pink fish which she named Lily.

"Rose, don't get too attached to that fish. We're only here for a bit, and it's incredibly dangerous also. Emits an ink like gas, sort of like the Cephalopod mollusc, but their ink has a pH of .034 and can burn your skin off at contact."

"Debbie downer," Rose frowned at the Doctor and plopped on a nearby cushioned bench while the Doctor checked them in. They stepped in the glass encased elevator and went up to the 54th floor.

"Do you think they'll have room service?" Rose inquired childishly.

"Rose it's the 43rd century, of course they will. Wouldn't be surprised if they had a psychic refrigerator up there. The real question is are bananas grown or distributed in this area of New Earth? I love any banana, but there's something so great about home grown. Don't you love farmer's markets? You get to go pick out your own produce and it all tasted so yummy. You know, you humans had a wonderful idea going with that."

"Doctor, relax. You can deal with imported bananas for a day or so."

"Is that all we're staying? A day? Rose Tyler, I wanted to show you all of the touristy things that you can do on a different planet!?"

"Why would we do touristy things? I mean I'm not exactly complaining, but it's not like we ever do touristy things on other planets."

"Rose Tyler, a bingle bongles and knick knacks from cheesy souvenier shops on planets are just like little nibbles at parties-"

"What, the only reason you go?" She shot him a cheeky grin. So far, the elevator stopped on every floor and they made it to 15.

"I was going to say one of the most enjoyable aspects, but you and your hyperboles can think that if you want to. But mark my words Rose Tyler, one day you will need a date to a stupid party without little nibbles, and just for that comment, I won't go."

"Who said I'd want you to? I can get another date easily and quickly. And hopefully, my other date won't break any furniture or upset my mum!" The Doctor blushed as he remembered Rose's friend Sally's wedding. The Doctor played her date so that she wouldn't be placed at the awkward singles' table and during the YMCA he broke the vase with the floral arrangement on their table and tried to explain to Jackie that it really wasn't a big deal. Needless to say, the night ended with several painful slaps, a lecture on the importance of marriage to a 21st century Earth couple living in London, and Rose holding an ice pack to his eye for the next hour until said that it didn't hurt anymore. Although it was a generally horrid memory, the Doctor reveled in the fact that he was able to convince Rose to hold him for an hour. Surely Rose was smart enough to know that although a slap from Jackie Tyler hurt, his superior physiology repaired it in less than 2 minutes. The rest was his acting skill.

"Oh yeah? Would you care to put your money where your mouth is?" The Doctor knew that Rose was not only a thrilling person to be around, but also held a sense of physical appeal that most would consider, gorgeous. He just wanted to see if she would take the bait. He expected her to scoff at him, hop out of the elevator, and go back to her food based concerns.

"You know what, I would! Thank you for the offer, Doctor. I bet you 5 quid that if we go to any club in the New Chicago area, I could get a guy to accompany me to a 'party' in less than 2 hours."

"That can be arranged _my dear." _The Doctor didn't really want to go through with the bet, but his pride would not allow him to back down from the challenge, especially if it meant that he could go to a club with Rose. He wanted to see what she would wear. Not that he particularly wanted her to dress provocatively, but since she almost always wore loose jeans, T-shirts, and hoodies, he wondered if she had any other clothes that were more socially accepted at clubs.

"Great! Tomorrow we're going shopping since I didn't bring any clothes to go clubbing in, and then tomorrow night, we'll put this little hypothesis to the test!" That answered the Doctor's question about her choice in clothing.

"But Rose," he whined, "do we really have to go shopping? There's a perfectly suitable wardrobe back in the TARDIS. I mean I know you don't like that alley, but it's not that bad. Better yet, I can go get her and park her on a street corner!"

"Doctor, first off she won't fit in with New Ea-"

"Yes she will! Rose Tyler don't you remember what I told you when we first came to New Earth? It was found in a revival movement. Think of it like the Renaissance: a revival of antiquity. She's just an homage to the old planet! No shopping for us."

"Okay fine, she might fit in, and I only say might because no one really cares enough to investigate a retro looking box in the middle of the street. Even still, if you would have let me finish, I was going to say that she doesn't carry my size, or style, and I didn't bring club wear when last I packed! I didn't exactly think that I would be going out while we were traveling. It never seemed like your style."

"It isn't, and neither is shopping! Rose Tyler," he said sternly, "I refuse to go shopping with you tomorrow just so that you can purchase a revealing dress with which you intend to win a stupid bet against me!"

"Good. So we'll get you some clubbing clothes too!"

"What? Rose I didn't say-"

"And I quote, 'I refuse to go shopping with you tomorrow _just _so that you can purchase a revealing dress with which you intend to win a stupid bet against me.' This way, we're not _just _shopping for a dress for me. You can get some jeans, a T-shirt, maybe some new socks."

By now they had made it to their door on floor 54. Rose held up the key to the scanner that recognized their purchase of the room and stepped inside. The room was covered in ornate, blue tapestries. The whole room radiated poseidon and an under the sea theme. The walls and furniture were decorated in various shades of blue and green in a pattern that was artistic enough not to be tacky, but would have been obnoxious to look at for more than 4 hours at a time. The most prevalent issue with the room was the presence of only one bed.

"Doctor," Rose beckoned his attention, "I don't mean to push it, but that bed is only a queen and there's only one. I mean I know a queen size bed is definitely big enough for two people, but it's a little too close for me and you, yeah?"

"Tell you what," the Doctor began while smugly waggling his eyebrows, "I will oh so magnanimously take the floor, but only if you don't make me go shopping tomorrow." He thought that would do the trick, but Rose only shrugged and began to remove her jeans. "What are you doing?"

"Taking off my jeans. Doctor, I don't care if you're in the bed or not, I refuse to sleep in my jeans." The Doctor swallowed deeply. He knew it would have been difficult to sleep in the same bed with Rose anyway, but the idea of sleeping in the same bed with Rose sans culottes was a bit too much for him.

"Fine. But I'm still not happy about going shopping."

"Doctor, go to sleep!" Rose barked at him. The Doctor didn't dislike shopping, despite what everyone thought. His favorite part of regenerating was finding his new look and picking out an outfit to flatter his new body and personality. What the Doctor did mind was going shopping with Rose to buy a raunchy dress that she would use as a tactic to seduce some stranger. The Doctor thought about possible strategies to avoid Rose purchasing a very skimpy dress, but slowly gave up and watched his favorite pink and yellow human sleep.

"Maybe, just maybe, you won't go through with this bet."

**A/N: Thanks for reading everyone! Drop me a review with things you want to see in upcoming chapters and comments on the story**


	3. Take It Like a Man

**A/N: Hello! So far the story is starting to take shape in it's most basic elements, but I can't decide if I want it to be plot driven, or just fluff. I have options outlined for both, but let me know in a review or message which you'd prefer! Once the story is finished, I might just do a different version of the other story plan, so let me know. Meanwhile, enjoy!**

**Ps. I don't own Doctor Who or Legally Blonde**

Chapter 2

The Doctor stared at the blue ceiling for 2 hours before he couldn't think anymore. He had tried to comprise a list of possible solutions to the shopping predicament.

1. Feign life threatening sickness

2. Hide Rose's pants

3. Profess false love to Rose Tyler and confess jealousy

He essentially had nothing. Rose knew that his Time Lord physiology wouldn't be threatened from a sickness on New Earth, and even if it was, the hospital on New Earth had the best medical technology, even without growing patients. If he hid Rose's pants, she would know he did it. If he told Rose that he loved her, he would: A. be held responsible for what would happen next and B. have to take her shopping anyway. He was caught between a rock and a department store, and it terrified him. Around five in the morning he got up to go look around the city.

He carefully tip toed out of the room and made sure the shut the door, but not loudly. Despite his careful efforts, Rose awoke to the sound of a gentle click.

"Great, he's running from the shopping." She rolled her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. After about 20 minutes, she abandoned her quest and threw off the covers. She rose from the plush bed and walked over to the teal colored window and it's matching curtains and watched the city wake up.

Rose thought to herself, _the nice thing about cities is that although there are those hard partiers who stay out all night, around 6 in the morning you can see the corporate world wake up for their day._

She figured that she would run out to get breakfast and return to the hotel room to wait for the Doctor to return. She went into the bathroom which was every bit as blue as the rest of the room. She turned on the sky blue shower and waited for the water to heat up. When it got to the perfect temperature, she stepped in and took a quick 10 minute shower. After she stepped out she threw on her clothes from the previous day, not caring about her appearance, grabbed a room key, and ran out to go find a cafe.

The streets of New Chicago were surprisingly clean in Rose's opinion. About 3 blocks away from the hotel, Rose realized that she didn't have any New Earth currency. By this point she was hungry and refused to accept defeat, so she went to the nearest ATM to find out what the currency was. The screen of the ATM showed her that the currency on New Earth was credits. She recalled her first trip to Satellite 5. She recalled the silver stick that acted as a credit card for credits. She wasn't sure if it was actually a card, or if that was what a credit actually looked like. She figured that she could pawn some of her money at an antique shop. She went to the nearest man who didn't look like he would have kidnapped her and asked for directions.

The tall man sported a horrible blonde combover, but could be considered otherwise attractive. He gave her a puzzled look.

"I apologize miss, are you here from another world?" At first Rose assumed it was because of her cockney, but she then realized that she was in a time when humans had spread out over the universe.

"Yeah, yeah I am. Came a long way from home, I did."

"I'm sorry to inform you, but we don't have pawn shops on New Earth."

Recalling what the Doctor reminded her of in the elevator, Rose asked, "Wait, New Earth is supposed to be the result of a revival movement, right? If it is, then why aren't there pawn shops?" Rose knew from watching the mindless American TV show, Pawn Stars, that some of the greatest history in the world lies in the remains of objects.

The man with the blond combover just stared at her, squinting his blue eyes in an incredulous fashion and raising one eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I truly am, but you're just too strange. I understand visiting the planet, but you're just bizarre." With that, he turned away, the heels of his black loafers scuffing the sidewalk.

There were many strange things about the situation. The man, although from another millennium entirely, seemed to be dressed by 21st century standards. There was a shocking lack of one shop type missing from the entire planet. The man had looked at her as if she was insane even though she explained that she was a traveler. Despite all of those facts, what shocked Rose Tyler the most was that the Doctor hadn't popped up behind her in the 10 minutes she had been gone.

She turned around to see just the street and its shopped lining. Without money, she couldn't pay for anything, so she turned around to go back to the hotel. Trudging her feet along the sidewalk, she prepared herself for the hell that she was about to put herself through.

The Doctor had made better use of his time. He went through the entire tootsie roll museum to select the highlights for he later tour with Rose, met a homeless cat, and bought a bunch of 4 bananas. He decided that at that point he had probably caused Rose enough misery and headed back to the hotel. He walked about a mile before reaching the hotel.

Simultaneously, they made their way to their room and met at the door at precisely the same time.

"Where on New Earth did you go?"

"Well, I just stepped out for a bit, you know bit of fresh morning air."

"Right, and it had nothing to do with you trying to escape me and our shopping excursion for today?"

"Rose Tyler I am offended! I may not like the idea of this plan to help you get an outfit so that you can win a bet against you, a poorly fought bet mind that, but a bet nonetheless, but I would not desert you on a distant planet because of it!" They opened the door and stared into the blue void of a room for a moment. Rose walked over and sat on the corner of the navy blue bed while the Doctor leaned against the wall.

"I'm sorry."

"Rose, what for? It's not your fault that you're untrusting of my inquisitive nature." Rose rolled her eyes and took a deep breath in.

"No, I'm sorry for making you do the shopping thing. I mean, I knew you might not be thrilled about it, but if you really don't want to that's okay, I won't force you." The Doctor's eyes grew wide and began to well up.

"Rose, I may not like the idea of you auctioning yourself off to someone else for the sake of winning a bet, but that doesn't mean I won't support you in it."

"Great," Rose began while wiping a tear that had snuck its way from her eye and ran its course down her cheek, "so will you be ready to go in 15 minutes?" The Doctor nodded and 13 minutes later they were off.

"Where are we?"

"It's called a department store."

"Its beautiful." The Doctor was mesmerized by the sight of the 42nd century store. They stood in a verdant atrium that extended 30 stories up, each floor with a different theme color for its foliage. He took in a deep breath and smelled the refreshing scent of lavender and Dr. Pepper.

"First a deep breath, take it all in." Rose nodded to him. She knew that if he kept smelling at that rate his senses would go crazy in less than 5 minutes.

"What's that smell?"

"Love," a saleswoman popped up behind them, "the new fragrance from Chanel." Rose felt a slight blush creep up her cheeks, but luckily the Doctor was preoccupied smelling other colognes and feeling fabrics.

First, they headed to the men's department. Rose wanted to buy some appropriate club wear for the Doctor before their bet began so that he could watch the action. Much like any department store she had been to before, the racks were lined with expensive fabrics and electronic sales tags. They went to the casual section and browsed through jeans of various cuts and washes.

"Rose, I love these ones!" The Doctor squealed excitedly. Rose was just happy that he agreed to it in the end. Unfortunately, the jeans that the Doctor had selected were a grungy, light wash pair with slits on the thighs, a New Earth fashion trend that never really caught on.

"Uhm, well why don't you add it to the pile of pairs to try on. Here," she replied handing him a pair of dark wash skinny jeans.

"But Rose, these ones are perfect, I can just tell." He pleaded.

"Doctor, I don't care if you think they're the ones, just give everything else a chance."

"But they all look so ugly..."

"A good code to go by is the uglier it looks on the rack, the better it looks on. Just try it."

"Rose," he gave her a stern face that radiated, you stupid ape, "that's statistically impossible. You know that with my keen sense of fashion it will probably not only look great, but be the correct size too." He grinned, his tongue popping out from behind his front teeth. She wanted to argue with him, to tell him to stop being so naive and childish, but the smile she gave him made her slouch in a nearby chair while he went into the dressing room to change.

He appeared again about two minutes later, clad in the hideous, torn jeans. They were too large and the slices in the legs made it look as if he was attacked by a vicious animal. Above all, they were boot cut. Large boot cut. The Doctor looked hideous in the bell bottom jeans and Rose made a mental note to not go with him to the 70s. Ever.

"Rose, I think you were right," the Doctor said. He glanced down at his legs and shuddered. "They don't fit very well or look very good." Though she was happy that he admitted her victory, she was upset to see him so disappointed.

"Here," she said, handing him two more hangers with a black dress shirt and a burgundy sweater respectively, "I picked these up earlier. Go try them on with the dark jeans I gave you, yeah?" She smiled earnestly, hoping to cheer him up, and he sulked back into the dressing rooms.

Rose sat in the modern, chic chair and looked at the beautiful 14th floor scenery while the Doctor changed. Inside the dressing room, the visibly down Doctor slid off the failure jeans and exchanged them for Rose's suggested outfit. Though he didn't like to admit it, he thought it would look better. It wasn't until he finished and checked the mirror to see that he looked great that he felt more chipper. The red of the sweater brought out the natural red undertones in his hair and made it look more voluminous, the black dress shirt gave it a relaxed, yet professional appeal, and the jeans hugged his legs in a relaxed lilt that was fitting, yet loose. Best of all, his red chucks fit perfectly with the outfit. All in all, he decided that he looked sexy before he walked out of the dressing room, a spring in his step.

"Rose, I'm finished."

Rose rounded the corner to find him leaning against the wall with a smirk. She slowly walked towards him and her breath hitched. She found it increasingly more difficult to get closer, but she persisted with her endeavor when she finally reached him.

"It looks good. Really good." She chuckled nervously and turned around to hide her intensifying blush. He obviously looked good and he knew it, but Rose felt almost ashamed to look at him. It felt like it was so beautiful and sacred that she was ruining it with her gaze. Of course it was just a sweater and jeans, but she thought of the magnitude of the transformation in awe.

"Great! Now that I have something, we should get you an outfit as well."

They travelled down 3 floors to the women's department. This floor was well lit with windows filling every wall. The view over New Chicago took away Rose's breath and the Doctor had to remind her of their purpose.

"Rose, we should pick up your clothes so we can go." Rose just stood there staring out at the skyline of the city. "Rose." It was more of a whisper than a reminder. He tapped her on the shoulder and felt her lean into his touch before turning around to finish their trip.

Racks lined with brightly colored dressed popped out at Rose before she made a conscious decision to avoid all reds. She didn't want people to think they were a matching couple when they entered the club. After browsing the section for about 20 minutes, she found a form fitting blue dress. It was a dark blue, body con dress, but it was covered in overlapping blue silk squares that made it look like a rippling wave. It had one shoulder, a black belt, and came mid thigh on Rose. She knew that it would be perfect, but kept looking just in case. She also found a white dress with a fuller, knee length skirt and a beaded design on the waist and a black dress with mesh sleeves and an open back.

Rose went in the dressing room to model them and went sequentially by her personal appeal. She began with the black dress and strutted out of the dressing room to let the Doctor see. When he saw her, he had the same relaxed breathless look as he did after Cassandra kissed him in New New York.

"You look...you look..."

"Is the time lord finally speechless? No words left?"

"No I know the perfect word. Beautiful. You look beautiful."

"Thank you." The two were cradling each other by the arms and gently pulled away after this comment. After they pulled away, Rose softly said, "Ya know, I still have two more. This was my least favorite of the three." She then ran back in to the dressing room and put on the white dress. Outside, the Doctor braced himself. He hadn't been prepared to see Rose look quite that good, and he made a mental note to stay seated and not to get within 5 feet of her.

The Doctor held himself well throughout the white dress, but feared what the last dress would do to him. He was losing control of himself and most ashamedly, his libido. Rose stepped out cautiously in the blue dress and the Doctor bit his lips so that his jaw wouldn't drop.

"Doctor, I'm having a bit of trouble with the zipper. Could you help me?" She waited for a second and when he didn't respond she offered, "Or, ya know, I could find an employee to do it." She dropped her eyes to the floor, embarrassed by her request to have the Doctor help her.

"No Rose, it's fine, it's just that the dress looks really good. I mean _really _good. Not just good by my standards, but by anyone's standards and whoever the subject of your false affection is will be incredibly lucky." Rose smiled as she turned around and offered the zipper to the Doctor. He let his hand linger on her back for a minute before massaging her shoulders. He sunk in and leaned his head on her left shoulder, and she felt her breath become scarce. He thought about tilting his head to kiss her neck, but quickly decided against it, zipped the dress and stepped away. Rose inwardly groaned at the loss of contact, but turned around and looked at the goofy stare the Doctor had.

"So this is the one then, yeah?"

"Yes, yes I suppose it is."

"Hold on, let me run and grab a pair of shoes and earrings for it. I'll meet you back at the hotel." Rose turned and ran back to change. The Doctor headed out to the door, but found himself caught on level 8, the food court. Though New Chicago had a variety of restaurant types varying from 18th century Italian to 41st century fast food, he found himself caught at a small fish and chip stand. He ordered one large serving and sat down at a table. He pulled out his sonic and sent Rose a text to meet him there for lunch when she was finished.

He tried to be polite and he tried to wait, but after a half hour he wanted to dig in. The Doctor loved the British classic and wanted desperately to taste it from New Chicago. He took a bite of the fish, which was alright, but the chips were to die for. He bit off half of one when he looked up to find Rose snatching it from his fingers and finishing the chip herself. She laughed before asking why he hadn't waited for her.

Instead of replying to her question, the Doctor just looked her in the eye and said "Whoever the bloke is that gets you tonight is one lucky bastard." She gazed into his eyes for a moment and leaned forward slightly before looking down into her lap. They finished their lunch in silence


End file.
